Desperate need of legal advice - evicting tenants in LA county (California)

[udonoogen]

Hello ATOT. Hopefully someone out there has some legal experience doing this. My father is renting out our old home to a bunch of deadbeat tenants. They have not paid for 4 months. Rent each month is $2,350 and so he's obviously in the hole quite a bit $9,400).

I served them a 3-day notice or quit. I filled out the following paperwork for him:
- UD-100 (unlawful detainer)
- SUM-130 (Summons)

I also believe I need a POS-10 for the person that will be serving them this summons.

How do I go about serving them the unlawful detainer? Do I go to the court clerk first and get three copies stamped and give them a copy? Then go back and give the proof of summons to the clerk? Or do I need to serve them first (unstamped) and provide the proof of the service of summons when I file with the clerk?

Needless to say, this is frustrating for my dad. He's getting older in years and he's just angry they aren't paying but he doesn't know how to get them out. I have very little legal experience but have tried to reach as much as possible about Los Angeles County (California) eviction law. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Don

 

[Epic Fail]

get a lawyer

/thread

 

[udonoogen]

a lawyer is only going to tell me what how to file, i've already filled out all of the paperwork. hopefully someone can just tell me the correct process so we don't bumble around. obviously, paying for a lawyer is chump change compared to what they owe ... but if we never get the rent $ back, its just more money we don't have that we're spending to kick them out.

 

[Capt Caveman]

The Court Clerk or a Lawyer will be able to tell you the correct process to follow.

 

[XZeroII]

Originally posted by: udonoogen
a lawyer is only going to tell me what how to file, i've already filled out all of the paperwork. hopefully someone can just tell me the correct process so we don't bumble around. obviously, paying for a lawyer is chump change compared to what they owe ... but if we never get the rent $ back, its just more money we don't have that we're spending to kick them out.

No, you don't understand. GET A LAWYER. You would be incredibly stupid to not get a lawyer. It is costing you $2,300 EVERY MONTH that you do not get a lawyer. GET A LAWYER!

 

[Schfifty Five]

How did you let them stay for 4 months before deciding enough is enough?

You should have done this after 1 month of no pay.

But like Caveman and XzeroII have said, call the court and find out the process, or hire a lawyer.

 

[OdiN]

I would get some guys and go over there with some shotguns and get them to leave.

Then change the locks. Then sell everything in there to pay for the back rent.

Or...rather that's what I would want to do. Unfortunately the law wouldn't like that solution.

 

[udonoogen]

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: udonoogen
a lawyer is only going to tell me what how to file, i've already filled out all of the paperwork. hopefully someone can just tell me the correct process so we don't bumble around. obviously, paying for a lawyer is chump change compared to what they owe ... but if we never get the rent $ back, its just more money we don't have that we're spending to kick them out.

No, you don't understand. GET A LAWYER. You would be incredibly stupid to not get a lawyer. It is costing you $2,300 EVERY MONTH that you do not get a lawyer. GET A LAWYER!

alright, spoke to my dad. he agrees with you. he'll talk to someone on monday. he's too nice of a guy to be a landlord. ugh ... i would have been pissed if they skipped a month.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: udonoogen

Originally posted by: XZeroII

Originally posted by: udonoogen
a lawyer is only going to tell me what how to file, i've already filled out all of the paperwork. hopefully someone can just tell me the correct process so we don't bumble around. obviously, paying for a lawyer is chump change compared to what they owe ... but if we never get the rent $ back, its just more money we don't have that we're spending to kick them out.

No, you don't understand. GET A LAWYER. You would be incredibly stupid to not get a lawyer. It is costing you $2,300 EVERY MONTH that you do not get a lawyer. GET A LAWYER!

alright, spoke to my dad. he agrees with you. he'll talk to someone on monday. he's too nice of a guy to be a landlord. ugh ... i would have been pissed if they skipped a month.

Wow ... Congrats on seeing reason so quickly & I hope things work out!

 

[compuwiz1]

4 Months?
He let it go far too long. Sadly, I doubt he'll recover the money. I hope they didn't trash the place.

 

[crt1530]

You should have started the eviction process when they were 7 days late (per you legal rights) instead of 120 days late. You are never going to see a penny of that rent.

7 days late = 72 hour notice
10 days late = file for eviction in court
You should be able to get an eviction and have the cops come out to throw the deadbeats out on their asses well before the end of 30 days.

Just think of this as a $7,000 lesson in property management. Also, tell your dad to run a freaking credit/background check the next time he rents out his house. People who do this are rarely first time offenders.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Yellow Pages ---> Process Server

 

[imported_cambit69]

you're initiating a civil lawsuit so as with any lawsuit you first fill-in all your paperwork, go to the county clerks office and pay the filing fee and file the summons and detainer. the clerk will stamp your 3 copies. one copy is for you, one is for the court, and the last is for the person you're serving.

once you have the stamped copy you pay either a process server or your local police sherrif to serve the bitches. the person serving must not be related to the case, police department and process server charges a small fee. once they serve your shit, they will fill out a POS-10 and either they or you will file that at the county clerks office (probably you) as proof of service and summons.

the offending party will have 30 days from the date the summons was served to file a response. on the 31st day if they havn't responded, you file a petition to enter default. if they flie a reponse, the county clerk will mail you a copy of the response and will set a court date to speak before the judge. this is where hiring a lawyer will come in handy and the time for you to prove that they are screwing you over.

judge makes a judgement in favor of plaintiff or defendent, you are the plaintiff in this matter. etc etc. judge judy, go watch the tv show.

ps hire a lawyer

 

[alkemyst]

good luck in LA.

A lawyer is not just going to tell you what to file if he is worth crap. He will also tell you what to do and not to do to help your situation.

California in general is a PITA state for landlords.

 

[AlienCraft]

Good, I'm glad he saw the light and is going for the legal guns.

Had a similar situation....
My brother had a couple of friends who schmoozed their way into our mom's house when she and her hubby retired and decided to go RV the nation.
When it finally became clear that they were going to be real dicks about "it", Mom called me crying the whole story.
Well, as luck would have it, i was literally hours away from leaving town on tour for a few months and was unable to simply drive the 3 hours to her place and set the boy straight.
So, I told her I would do what I could and for her to wait until Monday before doing anything else and I would check with her the next day after getting to the other end of the flights.
I hang up, step outside to the payphone at the curb by the clubhouse at the condo building, and call the little twerp.
His roommate answers and I get the brother's buddy on the line.
After a little light banter, I told him I was aware there was problems and that the solution was in his hands and I was calling to see how he wanted to play it out. He feigns ignorance, I continued with...." look, since you're my brother's buddy, i'm giving you this courtesy call. If it was anybody else, well, you wouldn't let someone screw your mom over, would you? Anyway, here's the deal, you guys pack your shit, and get out tonight and don't trash her house anymore than you have already and have her tell me it's all good when I call her in 16 hours when I get through flying out to where my tour starts and I won't make a call I really never thought i would have to make. I'm not sure if I should call my buddies in the Angels or call these thug MF'rs I know outta the projects here in The City to come up there and help you pack and move, but as sure as you were at that show with my brother, know that I CAn and will make that call from the airport, and that chances are before I get to my hotel, you will be shitting your pants, you get where I'm coming from ???? "
There was a brief pause and he starts with " you don't have to get all upset" and I give him the old " I'm not upset, my MOM's upset. Do you see my problem here? Help me out here....you know I can't let this slide, you disrespecting her, no paying rent, no calling back, now you gotta move and your little roommate is going to make trouble for all of you. Either move out now, and save everyone a hassle, or screw around and see what happens. Don't listen to your little six pack lawyer of a roommate, none of that will matter when there's a dozen Harley's driving up the driveway.I'm not kidding around. It's only the fact that a car is on it's way to pick me up that keeps me from coming up there tonight and do it myself."
With that I hung up, finished packing and went on my merry way.
When I called the mom unit some 12 hours later, she says..." well, I don't know what you said but what ever it was sure worked. I got a call from Brian about 8:30 this morning saying they had one more load to pick up but they would be back before noon, and he was very sorry and would a hundred dollars on the back rent today be ok and he would have some more money next week, and on and on...."
She didn't know the details until just recently and you should have seen the look on her face....
That's what I'm talking about.....

 

[T9D]

You really don't need a lawyer. This stuff is all very routine and the county has done it a million times. Same paperwork over and over each time.

I got a lawyer before and they dont do jack except charge you up the yang and file the same stupid papers and do the same routine that the County provides paper work for.

I guess if you don't know the routine yet and the ins and outs it might be a good idea to get a lawyer this time and pay attention to how everything works. Then next time do it on your own.

And NEXT time do not wait that long. Don't be Mr nice guy. If they are even a week late you give them a 30 day notice right away. If they pay then fine let them stay. If they don't you already got things started and will have them out of there soon with their deposit and the last month rent (even after going through a court). probably wont lose a thing.

 

[alkemyst]

it doesn't pay to harass your tenants, filing a 30 day notice the first time they are 1 week late would do that. The check may have very well been lost in the mail. Last thing you want is more damages than you have in deposit. I have no idea on your situation but the op is talking $2k+ a month. That alone makes hiring a pro a no-brainer.

You can easily screw up your own eviction procedures esp in California by doing things wrong. Also last thing you want to do is break one of the tenant laws and set yourself up for penalities.

Being he has gone 4 months now, he may be in a special legal situation where eviction may be more difficult esp if they haven't paid since month one. They could very easily craft a story stating that based on a verbal agreement they were told while the lease said one thing, as long as they kept the property up they would not be charged...tenant/landlord cases are textbook crazy sometimes. The law is usually WAY more than lenient on the tenants.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
it doesn't pay to harass your tenants, filing a 30 day notice the first time they are 1 week late would do that. The check may have very well been lost in the mail. Last thing you want is more damages than you have in deposit. I have no idea on your situation but the op is talking $2k+ a month. That alone makes hiring a pro a no-brainer.

You can easily screw up your own eviction procedures esp in California by doing things wrong. Also last thing you want to do is break one of the tenant laws and set yourself up for penalities.

Being he has gone 4 months now, he may be in a special legal situation where eviction may be more difficult esp if they haven't paid since month one. They could very easily craft a story stating that based on a verbal agreement they were told while the lease said one thing, as long as they kept the property up they would not be charged...tenant/landlord cases are textbook crazy sometimes. The law is usually WAY more than lenient on the tenants.

yeap. and god forbid if they actually fight it. they can stretch it out for a year.

I have relatives that rent out apartments/houses. some of the crap i have heard is amazing.

hell my in-laws had a house they were renting out. it took them 9 months to get the renters out (bunch of college kids). they did over $10k worh tof damage. in the backyard there was like 10 empty kegs.


IF the family has kids it really gets hard. they can say they will pay back pay (and pay a slight amount) then it starts the process all over.

there is NO way in hell i would be a landlord.

 

[potato28]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
Good, I'm glad he saw the light and is going for the legal guns.

Had a similar situation....
My brother had a couple of friends who schmoozed their way into our mom's house when she and her hubby retired and decided to go RV the nation.
When it finally became clear that they were going to be real dicks about "it", Mom called me crying the whole story.
Well, as luck would have it, i was literally hours away from leaving town on tour for a few months and was unable to simply drive the 3 hours to her place and set the boy straight.
So, I told her I would do what I could and for her to wait until Monday before doing anything else and I would check with her the next day after getting to the other end of the flights.
I hang up, step outside to the payphone at the curb by the clubhouse at the condo building, and call the little twerp.
His roommate answers and I get the brother's buddy on the line.
After a little light banter, I told him I was aware there was problems and that the solution was in his hands and I was calling to see how he wanted to play it out. He feigns ignorance, I continued with...." look, since you're my brother's buddy, i'm giving you this courtesy call. If it was anybody else, well, you wouldn't let someone screw your mom over, would you? Anyway, here's the deal, you guys pack your shit, and get out tonight and don't trash her house anymore than you have already and have her tell me it's all good when I call her in 16 hours when I get through flying out to where my tour starts and I won't make a call I really never thought i would have to make. I'm not sure if I should call my buddies in the Angels or call these thug MF'rs I know outta the projects here in The City to come up there and help you pack and move, but as sure as you were at that show with my brother, know that I CAn and will make that call from the airport, and that chances are before I get to my hotel, you will be shitting your pants, you get where I'm coming from ???? "
There was a brief pause and he starts with " you don't have to get all upset" and I give him the old " I'm not upset, my MOM's upset. Do you see my problem here? Help me out here....you know I can't let this slide, you disrespecting her, no paying rent, no calling back, now you gotta move and your little roommate is going to make trouble for all of you. Either move out now, and save everyone a hassle, or screw around and see what happens. Don't listen to your little six pack lawyer of a roommate, none of that will matter when there's a dozen Harley's driving up the driveway.I'm not kidding around. It's only the fact that a car is on it's way to pick me up that keeps me from coming up there tonight and do it myself."
With that I hung up, finished packing and went on my merry way.
When I called the mom unit some 12 hours later, she says..." well, I don't know what you said but what ever it was sure worked. I got a call from Brian about 8:30 this morning saying they had one more load to pick up but they would be back before noon, and he was very sorry and would a hundred dollars on the back rent today be ok and he would have some more money next week, and on and on...."
She didn't know the details until just recently and you should have seen the look on her face....
That's what I'm talking about.....

Too much to read, Cliffs?

 

[pontifex]

jesus...2350 a month...no wonder they can't fucking pay...

 

[udonoogen]

Originally posted by: pontifex
jesus...2350 a month...no wonder they can't fucking pay...

this is for a four bedroom house in southern california in a nice neighborhood. it's expensive to live around here.

thanks for your help, guys.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: potato28

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
Good, I'm glad he saw the light and is going for the legal guns.

Had a similar situation.... story story blah blah......
She didn't know the details until just recently and you should have seen the look on her face....
That's what I'm talking about.....

Too much to read, Cliffs?

Ahhh geez ... "grumbles something about 'gotta have it now' generation"...

Cliffzz
1. Bro's friend (Bonehead) rents from our mom. Screws it up.
2. Mom calls me before i leave on a major tour. No can handle "personally".
3. I call Bonehead and remind him of "familial courtesy".... and that I could call one of several various and sundry of MY friends to "help him pack", if need be.
4. Bonehead figures out to whom I alluded and decides to leave, and does so without bashing in any walls or causing any more damage.
5. profit.. oh , wait, not really... but at least not a dead horse completely....